Part 3

Wits that matur'd by time have courted praise, Shall see their works outdone in these essays, And blush to know thy earlier years display A dawning clearer than their brightest day.[13:2] Yet I'll not praise thee, for thou hast outgrown 5 The reach of all men's praises but thine own. Encomiums to their objects are exact: To praise, and not at full, is to detract. And with most justice are the best forgot; For praise is bounded when the theme is not: 10 Since mine is thus confin'd, and far below Thy merit, I forbear it, nor will show How poor the autumnal pride of some appears,[13:3] To the ripe fruit thy vernal season bears! Yet though I mean no praise, I come t'invite 15 Thy forward aims still to advance their flight. Rise higher yet; what though thy spreading wreath Lessen, to their dull sight who stay beneath? To thy full learning how can all allow Just praise, unless that all were learn'd as thou? 20 Go on, in spite of such low souls, and may Thy growing worth know age, though not decay, Till thou pay back thy theft, and live to climb As many years as thou hast snatch'd from Time.

ON SIR J[OHN] S[UCKLING] HIS PICTURE AND POEMS [1646].[14:1]

Suckling, whose numbers could invite Alike to wonder and delight, And with new spirit did inspire The Thespian scene, and Delphic lyre, Is thus express'd in either part, 5 Above the humble reach of Art. Drawn by the pencil, here you find His form; by his own pen, his mind.

ANSWER [TO "THE UNION," POEM ADDRESSED TO STANLEY BY HIS FRIEND AND TUTOR, WILLIAM FAIRFAX].[15:1]

If we are one, dear Friend! why shouldst thou be At once unequal to thyself and me? By thy release thou swell'st my debt the more, And dost but rob thyself to make me poor. What part can I have in thy luminous cone, 5 What flame, since my love's thine, can call my own, (The palest star is less the son of night,) Who but thy borrow'd know no native light?[15:2] Was't not enough thou freely didst bestow The Muse, but thou must[15:3] give the laurel too, 10 And twice my aims by thy assistance raise, Conferring first the merit, then the praise? But I should do thee greater injury, Did I believe this praise were meant to me, Or thought, though thou hast worth enough to spare 15 T'enrich another soul, that mine should share. Thy Muse, seeming to lend, calls home her fame, And her due wreath doth, in renouncing, claim.

V. LYRICS PRINTED ONLY IN EDITIONS OF 1647 AND 1657 [GAMBLE].

THE BLUSH.

So fair Aurora doth herself discover (Asham'd o' th' aged bed of her cold lover,) In modest blushes, whilst the treacherous light Betrays her early shame to the world's sight. Such a bright colour doth the morning rose 5 Diffuse, when she her soft self doth disclose Half drown'd in dew, whilst on each leaf a tear Of night doth like a dissolv'd pearl appear; Yet 'twere in vain a colour out to seek To parallel my Chariessa's cheek; 10 Less are compar'd[16:1] with greater, and these seem To blush like her, not she to blush like them. But whence, fair soul, this passion? what pretence Had guilt to stain thy spotless innocence? Those only this feel who have guilty been, 15 Not any blushes know, but who know[16:2] sin. Then blush no more; but let thy chaster flame, That knows no cause, know no effects of shame.

THE COLD KISS.

Such icy kisses, anchorites that live Secluded from the world, to dead skulls give; And those[17:1] cold maids on whom Love never spent His flame, nor know what by desire is meant, To their expiring fathers such bequeath, 5 Snatching their fleeting spirits in that breath: The timorous priest doth with such fear and nice Devotion touch the Holy Sacrifice.

Fie, Chariessa! whence so chang'd of late, As to become in love a reprobate? 10 Quit, quit this dulness, Fairest, and make known A flame unto me equal with mine[17:2] own. Shake off this frost, for shame, that dwells upon Thy lips; or if it will not so be gone, Let's once more join our lips,[17:3] and thou shalt see 15 That by the flame of mine 'twill melted be.

THE IDOLATER.

Think not, pale lover, he who dies Burnt in the flames of Celia's eyes, Is unto Love a sacrifice;

Or, by the merit of this pain, Thou shalt the crown of martyrs gain! 5 Those hopes are, as thy passion, vain.

For when, by death, from[18:1] these flames free, To greater thou condemn'd shalt be, And punish'd for idolatry,

Since thou, Love's votary before, 10 (Whilst she[18:2] was kind,) dost him no more, But, in his shrine, Disdain adore.

Nor will this fire the gods prepare To punish scorn, that cruel Fair, Though now from flames exempted, spare; 15

But as together both shall die, Both burnt alike in flames shall lie, She in thy heart,[18:3] thou in her eye.

THE MAGNET.

Ask the empress of the night How the Hand which guides her sphere, Constant in unconstant light, Taught the waves her yoke to bear, And did thus by loving force 5 Curb or tame the rude sea's course.

Ask the female palm how she First did woo her husband's love; And the magnet, ask how he[19:1] Doth th' obsequious iron move; 10 Waters, plants, and stones know this: That they love; not what Love is.

Be not thou[19:2] less kind than these, Or from Love exempt alone! Let us twine like amorous trees, 15 And like rivers melt in one. Or, if thou more cruel prove, Learn of steel and stones to love.

ON A VIOLET IN HER BREAST.

See how this violet, which before Hung sullenly her drooping head, As angry at the ground that bore The purple treasure which she spread, Doth smilingly erected grow, 5 Transplanted to those hills of snow.

And whilst the pillows of thy breast Do her reclining head sustain, She swells with pride to be so blest, And doth all other flowers disdain; 10 Yet weeps that dew which kissed her last, To see her odours so surpass'd.

Poor flower! how far deceiv'd thou wert, To think the riches of the morn Or all the sweets she can impart. 15 Could these or sweeten or adorn, Since thou from them dost borrow scent, And they to thee lend ornament!

SONG.

Foolish Lover, go and seek For the damask of the rose, And the lilies white dispose To adorn thy mistress' cheek;

Steal some star out of the sky, 5 Rob the phoenix, and the east Of her wealthy sweets divest, To enrich her breath or eye!

We thy borrow'd pride despise: For this wine to which we are 10 Votaries, is richer far Than her cheek, or breath, or eyes.

And should that coy fair one view These diviner beauties, she In this flame would rival thee, 15 And be taught to love thee too.

Come, then, break thy wanton chain, That when this brisk wine hath spread On thy paler cheek a red, Thou, like us, may'st Love disdain. 20

Love, thy power must yield to wine! And whilst thus ourselves we arm, Boldly we defy thy charm: For these flames extinguish[20:1] thine.

THE PARTING.

I go, dear Saint, away, Snatch'd from thy arms By far less pleasing charms, Than those I did[21:1] obey; But if hereafter thou shalt know 5 That grief hath kill'd me, come,[21:2] And on my tomb Drop, drop a tear or two; Break with thy sighs the silence of my sleep, And I shall smile in death to see thee weep. 10

Thy tears may have the power To reinspire My ashes with new fire, Or change me to some flower, Which, planted 'twixt thy breasts, shall grow: 15 Veil'd in this shape, I will Dwell with thee still, Court, kiss, enjoy thee too: Securely we'll contemn[21:3] all envious force, And thus united be by death's divorce. 20

COUNSEL.

When deceitful lovers lay At thy feet their suppliant hearts, And their snares spread to betray Thy best treasure[22:1] with their arts, Credit not their flatt'ring vows: 5 Love such perjury allows.

When they with the[22:2] choicest wealth Nature boasts of, have possess'd thee; When with flowers (their verses' stealth), Stars, or jewels they invest thee,[22:3] 10 Trust not to their borrow'd store: 'Tis but lent to make thee poor.

When with poems[22:4] they invade thee, Sing thy praises or disdain; When they weep, and would persuade thee 15 That their flames beget that rain; Let thy breast no baits let in: Mercy's only here a sin!

Let no tears or offerings move thee, All those cunning charms avoid; 20 For that wealth for which they love thee, They would slight if once enjoy'd. Guard thy unrelenting mind! } None are cruel but the kind. }[22:5]

EXPOSTULATION WITH LOVE, IN DESPAIR.

Love! what tyrannic laws must they obey } Who bow beneath thy uncontrolled sway! } Or how unjust will that harsh empire prove }[23:1] Forbids to hope and yet commands to love! } Must all are to thy hell condemn'd sustain 5 A double torture of despair and pain? Is't not enough vainly to hope and woo, That thou shouldst thus deny that vain hope too? It were some joy,[23:2] Ixion-like, to fold The empty air, or feed on thoughts as cold;[23:3] 10 But if thou to my passion this deny, Thou may'st be starv'd to death as well as I; For how can thy pale sickly flame burn clear When death and cold despair inhabit here?[23:4] Then let thy dim heat warm, or else expire;[23:5] 15 Dissolve this frost, or let that quench the[23:6] fire. Thus let me not desire, or else possess! Neither, or both, are equal happiness.[23:7]

SONG.

Faith, 'tis not worth thy pains and care To seek t'ensnare A heart so poor as mine:[24:1] Some fools there be Hate liberty, 5 Who[m] with more ease thou may'st confine.

Alas! when with much charge thou hast Brought it at last Beneath thy power to bow, It will adore 10 Some twenty more, And that, perhaps, you'd[24:2] not allow.

No, Chloris, I no more will prove The curse of love, And now can boast a heart 15 Hath learn'd of thee Inconstancy, And cozen'd women of their art.

EXPECTATION.

Chide, chide no more away The fleeting daughters of the day, Nor with impatient thoughts outrun The lazy sun, Nor[25:1] think the hours do move too slow; 5 Delay is kind, And we too soon shall find That which we seek, yet fear to know.

The mystic dark decrees Unfold not of the Destinies, 10 Nor boldly seek to antedate The laws of Fate; Thy anxious search awhile forbear, Suppress thy haste, And know that Time at last 15 Will crown thy hope, or fix thy fear.

VI. LYRICS PRINTED IN ALL ORIGINAL EDITIONS OF STANLEY.

THE BREATH.

Favonius, the milder breath o' th' Spring, When proudly bearing on his softer wing Rich odours, which from the Panchean groves He steals, as by the phoenix-pyre he moves, Profusely doth his sweeter theft dispense 5 To the next rose's blushing innocence; But from the grateful flower, a richer scent He doth receive[26:1] than he unto it lent. Then, laden with his odour's richest store, He to thy breath hastes, to which these are poor; 10 Which, whilst the amorous wind[26:2] to steal essays, He like a wanton lover 'bout thee plays, And sometimes cooling thy soft cheek doth lie, And sometimes burning at thy flaming eye: Drawn in at last by that breath we implore, 15 He now[26:3] returns far sweeter than before, And rich by being robb'd, in thee he finds The burning sweets of pyres, the cool of winds.

THE NIGHT: A DIALOGUE.

_Chariessa._[27:1] What if Night Should betray us, and reveal To the light All the pleasures that we steal?

_Philocharis._ Fairest! we 5 Safely may this fear despise: How can she See our actions, who wants eyes?

_Chariessa._ Each dim star, And the clearer lights, we know, 10 Night's eyes are: They were blind that thought her so!

_Philocharis._ Those pale fires Only burn to yield a light T' our desires; 15 And, though blind, to give us sight.

_Chariessa._ By this shade That surrounds us, might our flame Be betray'd! And the day disclose its name. 20

_Philocharis._ Dearest Fair! These dark witnesses, we find, Silent are: Night is dumb, as well as blind.

_Chorus._

Then whilst these black shades conceal us, 25 We will scorn Th' envious morn, And the sun that would reveal us. Our flames shall thus their mutual light betray, And night, with these joys crown'd, outshine the day. 30

UNALTER'D BY SICKNESS.

Pale envious Sickness, hence! no more } Possess her breast, too cold before. } In vain, alas, thou dost invade }[28:1] A beauty that can never fade. } Could all thy malice but impair 5 One o' th' sweets which crown her fair;[28:2] Or steal the spirits from her eye; Or kiss into a paler dye The blooming[28:3] roses of her cheek; Our suffering[28:4] hopes might justly seek 10 Redress from thee, and thou mightst save Thousands of lovers from the grave. But such assaults are vain, for she Is too divine to stoop to thee, Blest with a form as much too high 15 For any change, as[28:5] Destiny, Which no attempt can violate: For what's her beauty is our fate.

TO CELIA.

EXCUSE FOR WISHING HER LESS FAIR.[29:1]

Why thy passion should it move That I wished thy beauty less? Fools desire what is above Power of nature to express; And to wish it had been more 5 Had been to outwish her store.

If the flames within thine eye Did not too great heat inspire, Men might languish, yet not die, }[29:2] At thy less ungentle fire, } 10 And might on thy weaker light Gaze, and yet not lose their sight.

Nor wouldst thou less fair appear, For detraction adds to thee; If some parts less beauteous were, 15 Others would much fairer be; Nor can any part we know Best be styl'd, when all are so.

Thus this great excess of light, Which now dazzles our weak eyes, 20 Would, eclips'd, appear more bright; And the only way to rise, Or to be more fair, for[29:3] thee, Celia! is less fair to be.

CELIA, SLEEPING OR SINGING.[30:1]

Roses, in breathing forth their scent, Or stars their borrowed ornament; Nymphs in the watery sphere that move, Or angels in their orbs above; The winged chariot of the light, 5 Or the slow silent wheels of night; The shade which from the swifter sun Doth in a circular motion run, Or souls that their eternal rest do keep, Make far more[30:2] noise than Celia's breath in sleep. 10

But if the angel which inspires This subtle frame[30:3] with active fires, Should mould this[30:4] breath to words, and those Into a harmony dispose, The music of this heavenly sphere 15 Would steal each soul out at the ear, And into plants and stones infuse A life that cherubim[30:5] would choose, And with new powers[30:6] invert the laws of fate: Kill those that live, and dead things animate. 20

PALINODE.[31:1]

Beauty, thy harsh imperious chains As a scorn'd weight, I here untie, Since thy proud empire those disdains Of reason or philosophy, That would[31:2] within tyrannic laws 5 Confine the power of each free cause.

Forc'd by the potent[31:3] influence Of thy disdain, I back return: Thus with those flames I do dispense Which, though they would not light, did burn, 10 And rather will through cold expire, Than languish at[31:4] a frozen fire.

But whilst I the insulting pride Of thy vain beauty do despise, Who gladly wouldst be deified 15 By making me thy sacrifice, May Love thy heart which to his charm Approach'd, seem'd cold, at distance warm!

THE RETURN.

Beauty, whose soft magnetic chains Nor time nor absence can untie,[32:1] Thy power the narrow bound[32:2] disdains Of Nature or Philosophy; Thou[32:3] canst by unconfined laws 5 A motion, though at distance, cause.

Drawn by the powerful[32:4] influence Of thy bright eyes, I back return; And since I nowhere can dispense With flames that[32:5] do in absence burn, 10 I rather choose 'twixt[32:6] them t'expire, Than languish by a hidden fire.

But if thou th'[32:7] insulting pride Of vulgar beauties dost despise, Who, by vain triumphs deified, 15 Their votaries do sacrifice, Then let those flames, whose magic charm At distance scorch'd, approach'd, but warm.

CHANG'D, YET CONSTANT.

Wrong me no more In thy complaint, Blam'd for inconstancy: I vow'd t' adore The fairest Saint, 5 Nor chang'd whilst thou wert she: But if another thee outshine, Th' inconstancy is only thine!

To be by such Blind fools admir'd 10 Gives thee but small esteem, By whom as much Thou'dst be desir'd, Didst thou less beauteous seem. Sure, why they love they know not well, 15 Who why they should not, cannot tell!

Women are by Themselves betray'd, And to their short joys cruel, Who foolishly 20 Themselves persuade Flames can outlast their fuel; None (though platonic their pretence), With reason love, unless by sense.

And he,[33:1] by whose 25 Command to thee I did my heart resign, Now bids me choose A deity Diviner far than thine; 30 No power can Love from Beauty sever: I'm still Love's subject; thine was, never.

The fairest she Whom none surpass, To love hath only right; 35 And such to me Thy beauty was, Till one I found more bright; But 'twere as impious to adore Thee now, as not to have done 't before. 40

Nor is it just By rules of Love, Thou shouldst deny to quit A heart that must Another's prove 45 Even in thy right to it; Must not thy subjects captives be To her who triumphs over thee?

Cease, then, in vain To blot my name 50 With forg'd apostasy! Thine is that stain Who dar'st to claim What others ask of thee. Of lovers they are only true 55 Who pay their hearts where hearts[33:2] are due.

TO CHARIESSA,

_Beholding herself in a Glass._[34:1]

Cast, Chariessa, cast that glass away; Not in its crystal face thine own survey. What can be free from Love's imperious laws, When painted shadows real flames can cause? The fires may burn thee from this mirror rise, 5 By the reflected beams of thine own eyes; And thus at last fall'n with thyself in love, Thou wilt my rival, thine own[34:2] martyr, prove. But if thou dost desire thy form to view, Look in my heart, where Love thy picture drew, 10 And then, if pleas'd with thine own shape thou be, Learn how to love thyself by[34:3] loving me.

SONG.

When I lie burning in thine eye, Or freezing in thy breast, What martyrs, in wish'd flames that die, Are half so pleas'd or blest?

When thy soft accents through mine ear 5 Into my soul do fly, What angel would not quit his sphere, To hear such harmony?

Or when the kiss thou gav'st me last My soul stole in its breath, 10 What life would sooner be embrac'd Than so desir'd a death?

When I commanded am by thee, } (Or by thine eye or hand,) } What monarch would not prouder be }[35:1] 15 To serve than to command? }

Then think not[35:2] freedom I desire, Or would my fetters leave, Since, phoenix-like, I from this fire Both life and youth receive. 20

SONG.

Fool! take up thy shaft again. If thy store Thou profusely spend in vain, Who can furnish thee with more? Throw not then away thy darts 5 On impenetrable hearts.

Think not thy pale flame can warm Into tears, Or dissolve the snowy charm Which her frozen bosom wears, 10 That expos'd unmelted lies To the bright suns of her eyes.

But since thou thy power hast lost, Nor canst fire Kindle in that breast, whose frost 15 Doth these flames in mine inspire; Not to thee but her I'll sue, That disdains both me and you!

DELAY.